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What does ShamWOW have to do with woodworking you ask? … Everything. Did you really think that nobody would try Shamwow in the workshop. Actually, I was surprised how many times these things were not only useful, but indispensable.

I was the one who purchased them, thinking … just like on television, I would use them when I wash the car, which of course has not happened as yet. In the mean time the one package ended up in the kitchen an the other found it's way to my workshop … on it's way to the storage room for retrieval at a later date. My workshop is “rag challenged”, that is there are never nice clean rags around. Only dirty, oily or with Minwax stain still on them or dried glue. As it turns out, I like having my steel powertool tables nice and smooth and a few years ago discovered a product called “Topcote” from Bostick (the adhesive company). This product sprays on the steel tops of tablesaws, jointers and even planers and makes very smooth surface that makes it easier to push wood through. I works great. After it is sprayed on and left a few minutes to dry, it then needs to be buffed to a glossy finish. Anyone who has a nice clean rag can do this … I am now using small piece of Shamwow, and I keep right with my Topcote can so they are always ready to use together … what could be easier.

After the Topcote incident I decided I might be an idea to just leave the “spare” Shamwows in the workshop, after all they might come in handy for something else. Well, that something else didn't take long at all. A couple of weeks later, while preparing to put a finish on a cabinet project, I was once again looking for a clean rag. I normally use some kind of oil base finish so it's important that the dust be taken off with tack cloth that is oil or spirit based. I decided to try a small square of Shamwow again. For this experiment I put a small quantity of fresh paint thinner on the 8”x8” square of Shamwow. I worked like an absolute dream. The small amount of paint thinner dispersed perfectly on Shamwow and made it a perfect tack cloth. Since my project was small, and not wanting to discard a still usable tack cloth. I decided to preserve it in small glass jar for a later date. (this worked very well but did need a small bit more paint thinner added to it on the second time).

I'm discovering new uses every month in the workshop for Shamwow. I like that it is lint free, adsorbent and in most situations re-usable, and for the cost of it, they are more than comparable to many other similar products. I'n now using them for polishers, tack cloths, wiping up spills that happen (which often need to be cleaned up quickly so damage is contained). Shamwow, a great invention with a million uses.